This week I went back to Coventry High School. My cooperating teacher is very comfortable in front of the class room but she does break the students into group work (during long periods) as much as she can. While in their groups she does travel around and asks the groups to explain their ideas and how they arrived at their conclusions. Aslo she is good at asking the right questions so the studnets can answer their orignal question instead of just giving the students the answer. My CT was explaining to me that this year her classes seem to be very lazy and would rather you just tell them something instead of trying to figure it out for themselves. She also said that they do enjoy labs and that it is a great way for them to discover the answer. Both my CT's will ask the students if they understand, do they have any questions and do they need anything explained further. So most of the questions the students answer by looking at notes or recalling information, so far the students haven'tbeen asked question to connect new ideas. But the CT do plan their labs very well so that the studnets have to make inferences and hypothesize before and after they have completed the lab.
While I am student teaching I want the students to think critically. It seems that both the Middle School who are in 8th grade and the High School which is all freshman are not being resourceful or taking an active role in their education. This is an important skill that al students need to learn. From the discussion I've had with both CT it seems like a goal of theirs also. One resource they need to utilize more is their peers, I know some students are shy but they nee dto overcome that. Group work is one way to develop this, especially ones were the teacher chooses the group then from their one student explains a concept two the second one and then the second one explains it to the third and so on. By doing this the student recieves the explaination but then gets it reinforced by explaining it to a peer. The teacher just has to be positive the first student understand the material and will be able to explain it clearly. While in the classroom I will try to act as a guide to finding the answer, to provoking thinking. I could either point the student to a lab or demo the class did, notes or handouts, or even books in the classroom.
While I am student teaching I want the students to think critically. It seems that both the Middle School who are in 8th grade and the High School which is all freshman are not being resourceful or taking an active role in their education. This is an important skill that al students need to learn. From the discussion I've had with both CT it seems like a goal of theirs also. One resource they need to utilize more is their peers, I know some students are shy but they nee dto overcome that. Group work is one way to develop this, especially ones were the teacher chooses the group then from their one student explains a concept two the second one and then the second one explains it to the third and so on. By doing this the student recieves the explaination but then gets it reinforced by explaining it to a peer. The teacher just has to be positive the first student understand the material and will be able to explain it clearly. While in the classroom I will try to act as a guide to finding the answer, to provoking thinking. I could either point the student to a lab or demo the class did, notes or handouts, or even books in the classroom.